With a distance of 130km (80 miles) or roughly a 3 to 4 hours drive from Manila, San Juan, Batangas is without doubt one of the common locations for an out-of-town escape. For the seashore, there’s the white sand stretch of Laiya. Climbers and nature lovers additionally hike up the height of Mt Daguldol. However there’s additionally a special kind of crowd that flocks the areas of Balagbag and Pinagbayan villages of the municipality — the migratory birds. Making birding in San Juan Batangas one of many essential attracts for birders even well beyond the migration season.
The Migratory Birds
My latest go to to Solmera Coast, a promising new leisure residence actual property growth by DMCI in Barangay Calubcub and Subukin gave me an opportunity to do birding in San Juan, Batangas. We have been guided by Professor De Villa of Batangas Jap Faculty who has lengthy been an environmental advocate. One of many websites he introduced us is on the busy agricultural fields of Balagbag.
Among the many flight of the frequent cattle egrets flustered by the passing farm tractor, the professor was in a position to simply spot just a few migratory birds a few that are lifers (newly noticed and recognized birds) for me. We noticed the elegant and slender Black-winged stilts. Lifers for me listed here are the sentinel-like Java Pond Heron and the adorable-looking Oriental Pratincole who’re each frequent migrants.
Sapangan Birds
From the lowlands, we went uplands of Sapangan, and into the personal lands of the professor’s household. We visited a big balete tree and have been anticipating to catch the birds feeding however missed the bloom and fruits by per week. Nonetheless, we discovered a lot of birds feeding on an aratiles tree. The colourful and placing eyelashes of the Coppersmith Barbet, a few flowerpeckers within the Crimson Keeled flowerpecker, and the pygmy flowerpecker are each lifers.
Was additionally in a position to {photograph} a Philippine pygmy woodpecker and a Balicassiao. Sighted however not clearly photographed have been a Luzon hornbill, a tailorbird, Philippine Magpie-robin, and a White-throated Kingfisher.
La Luz Arboretum
One other fascinating location we visited for birding is the sprawling La Luz Arboretum the place they’d an enormous assortment of greater than 1000 native timber inside a 117-hectare land space. This is without doubt one of the two locations the place the native Philippine teak grows. Other than this fascinating pure museum, Mark, who manages the world, has photographed a lot of fowl species right here together with their resident Philippine Megapode. I wasn’t in a position to see it right here however we might hear its distinctive calls close by.
What we have been in a position to observe for a time was the Philippine Pitta. A really skittish and colourful floor fowl was once known as “Crimson-bellied Pitta” by its seems. It took a while to observe its tracks however we have been in a position to see and spot clearly. To {photograph} although was slightly difficult. Nonetheless a beautiful lifer for me.
Birding in San Juan Batangas
For less than a half-day sortie, we have been in a position to go to just a few birding areas in San Juan, Batangas. We have been in a position to spot some migrants, residents, and even endemics. One needn’t go too far to understand birding even on the frequent floor areas. Even on the streets, perched by the electrical traces, the 2 species of bee-eaters may be discovered, the Blue-tailed bee-eater and the blue-throated bee-eater.
At Solmera Coast the place we stayed at their momentary villas because the space remains to be in growth, I discovered loads of White-breasted woodswallows, crows, and Asian Shiny Starlings. A raptor I wasn’t in a position to determine even flew by. Whether or not you might be an fanatic or a hardcore birder, San Juan, Batangas has some glorious birding outdoors of Manila.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning journey photographer, author and blogger. His works has discovered print in publications akin to Singapore Airways’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airways’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has additionally lent his experience to varied organizations just like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Basis, Save the Youngsters and World Imaginative and prescient, contributing high quality photographs for his or her advertising and marketing supplies.
